The invention relates to a needle selection device on a knitting machine, particularly a flat knitting machine, comprising knitting needles and jacks arranged displaceably in needle channels, and spring-biassed selection shanks, with cantilever ends and with operating butts, connected with the knitting needles or jacks, the selection shanks being lowerable in the needle channels by pressure cam means moved relative to the needle channels, and with selection jacks, each having at least one selection butt, displaceably arranged in the needle channels behind the knitting needles, said selection jacks being displaceable in the needle channels in a controlled manner selectively at selection positions by selection magnet means and being arranged to hold the operating butts of the selection shanks selectively in the lowered position.
From West German published patent application DE-OS No. 22 36 323 there is known one such needle selection device on a circular knitting machine with stationary cam members and a movable cylinder with needle channels. In that device all selection jacks are raised and thereby contact the selection magnets, by which they can be dropped in accordance with the pattern and retracted into their rest positions by means of springs. Separate springs in the needle channels ensure the necessary spring force of the selection shanks. For high-speed flat knitting machines with cam carriages moved back and forth over the needle beds this needle selection device is not suitable either from the point of view of its construction or from the point of view of its manner of operation and speed.
A great problem, particularly with high-speed automatic flat knitting machines with cam carriages movable back and forth over the needle beds, lies in finding the right mechanical-structural formation of the selection components, selection magnets and selection elements mounted on the carriage, such that with simple components one can ensure any desired choice of the knitting needles for knitting or not knitting, with the greatest possible reliability.